Rick Gets Angry
by wendykw
Summary: A scene insert for "Driven". Don't you think Rick deserved an apology?
1. Chapter 1

Rick stood quietly to the side as Kate questioned the real Henry Jenkins further. When Kate pulled out her cell phone to call CSU, Rick shook hands with Jenkins, thanked him for his help and walked outside. He was staring off towards the dock when Kate emerged from the trailer.

"Castle, let's head back to the city," Kate said as she gently touched his arm. Rick turned to her with glistening eyes and nodded his head. He turned towards the car. Kate tried to grab his arm as he passed her, "Castle, look at me." Rick just kept walking. Beckett closed her eyes for a moment and brushed away a tear as she followed him to the car.

Rick was waiting at the car with his back to her. He turned when he heard the car doors unlock. He spoke with the quiet control and biting edge of true fury. His eyes had unshed tears barely contained by his lashes. "Beckett, what did these people do to make you doubt me? How could you believe I would willingly walk away from you? After all these years, all we've been through." Rick paused to catch his breath and wiped his hand across his face, "You know me, so you have to know that I would **NEVER** put Alexis thru two months of not knowing where I am. Hell, I wouldn't even do that to Gina. And you thought I could do that to **you**?" Rick slammed his fist on the roof of the car in attempt to release some of his fury.

Kate flushed with shame, "Castle. I'm so sorry. The evidence wa"

Rick interrupted her with a bitter response, "When Tyson framed me for murder, _you_ believed in me despite the evidence. How could you EVER think I would willingly run away from our wedding? What evidence did you have that made you even consider that possibility? There is so much I don't understand. I was gone for two months. I was **shot** for God's sakes! They put me in a boat and left me to die. I have no idea what else they did to me. They stole our wedding that we worked so hard for, our honeymoon... Rick's words trailed off like a battery running out of charge. "Kate, who did this to us?" The last words were barely more than a whisper as a single tear escaped from his right eye.

Kate steadied herself, grabbing the top edge of the car frame, "In my heart, I never stopped believing in you. I looked for you every day. I was surrounded by voices telling me to believe the evidence. My mind battled with my heart day after day. Whoever did this convinced the FBI and most of the NYPD that you got cold feet and disappeared."

"But surely, when you came home at night, Mother and Alexis helped you see that I would **never** do that," Rick sounded almost desperate to make her believe.

"We will figure this out. I'll show you the evidence later. I have copies of everything at my apartment. Right now, we need to get back to the precinct," Kate tried to placate him for the moment.

"At your apartment? Didn't you stay at the loft?"

Kate looked down at the ground and spoke so very softly, "I couldn't sleep in our bed alone. It was too painful. I couldn't be there without you. Alexis was angry with me for leaving. I think Martha understood, but she didn't like it either. I haven't slept in the loft since the night before..." A sob caught Kate by surprise, and she stopped.

"Let's go back to the precinct. I'll show you the evidence. We can't resolve this here in the woods."

With a hint of a smile, Rick nodded and joked, "Amnesia, really? I had to get amnesia! How unimaginative. I would never write such a cliché story."

After they were both seated in the car, Kate reached for Rick's hand. He turned to look at her, and she used both hands to cup his face. "Richard Castle, I love you. I never stopped loving you. I ached for you every day you were gone. I am so sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you. We will find these bastards and make them pay."

"Does that mean I can kiss you now?" Rick asked with a lopsided smile and one raised eyebrow. Kate didn't answer him. She just pulled him close enough that her lips could join with his.

A/N: I wanted to see Rick get angry with Kate. She owed him an apology.


	2. At Kate's Apartment

A/N: Another insert scene for 7x01 "Driven". This is after Castle and Beckett tell Espo and Ryan about the fake Jenkins and the hacking of the DMV.

After leaving the precinct, Kate and Rick had gone directly to her apartment. Kate had gone over all the pieces of evidence with Rick. He had read the reports, the newspaper articles and Kate's notes. Kate had sat next to him, sipping a glass of wine and feeling the heat radiate from his thigh that touched hers. He looked at her at intervals with a wounded expression, and she would run her hand over his leg or along his forearm. When he finished, she saw the tears threaten to fall from his eyes. She drew his hand to her lips and kissed his fingers. "I'm so sorry I didn't find you. I followed every lead we had. After the video of the money drop, the FBI dropped the investigation. I never stopped looking for you. Castle, I never stopped."

The reunited couple rose from the sofa and stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the murder board in Kate's apartment. "So, I was run off the road by a stolen SUV. I remember that at least. I was dragged from the car," Rick pointed to the photo of the footprints and drag marks. "The Mercedes was torched. We'll have to pick out a new car together," Rick smiled at Kate for just a moment. She smiled back, and he turned back to the murder board. "You found the SUV as it was being crushed. Vinnie set up the destruction of the SUV and told you about the money drop. He even gave back the cash. There is video of me making that money drop, and no one else was seen on the video. Were there cameras showing how I got to the alley?" Kate shook her head, and Rick asked, "Do I get my money back, since the FBI was able to prove it was my cash?"

Kate smiled widely as she replied, "I'm sure you can get the court to give you your money back."

"They took two months of my life, Kate. Getting the money back is a small victory."

Rick paused, took a deep breath and continued his summary of the evidence, "After the video, the FBI decided to drop their investigation. I don't understand why one piece of video convinced so many people to think I was behind this. Kate, all the kidnappers had to do was threaten you or Alexis, and I would have given them all the money I had. I would have dropped it off in Hell to keep you both safe." Kate slid her arm around his waist, but was too overcome with emotion to speak. "Was any money withdrawn from any of my accounts or was there any credit card use?"

"We flagged your accounts and your cards. There was no activity other than what your accountant did to pay your monthly bills, and what Martha and Alexis needed each month. One of the FBI agents suggested you had an offshore account, and I wanted to deck him," Kate answered.

Rick smiled at Kate's admission about the FBI agent. "Two months after I disappeared, the Coast Guard found me unconscious in a blue dinghy 80 miles from shore. The captain told you he thinks I was in the boat for 4 or 5 days. I was dehydrated and sunburned. Do you think the red skin brings out the blue in my eyes?" Rick's joke surprised Kate, and she laughed derisively with an accompanying eye roll. "Too soon? Okay, back to the investigation. There were 3 bullet holes in the boat. Lanie found dengue fever antibodies in my blood and a healing gunshot graze on my side. There was a key labeled 38 sewn into my pants. Do you have any idea what kind of key that is?"

"CSU thought maybe a mailbox, but we have nothing to go on with that."

"I should look at it and see if it seems familiar. Next, the dinghy led you to Henry Jenkins and a tent on the shore, which he said I was living in. The tent was filled with my belongings and what looked like the detritus of my living there. If I hadn't insisted we go to the campsite, if I hadn't wanted to meet Henry Jenkins, would we be here? Would you have gotten past your doubts?" Rick looked at Kate.

Kate felt her face start to flush, and she looked at her feet. After taking a deep breath to regain her composure, "Castle, I would have needed to know the whole story. I know I would have investigated more, but yes, the doubts might have remained. I never stopped loving you, even when the doubts took over my mind. My heart is yours, always."

Rick kissed Kate's temple, "I'm certain that if I had staged my own death, I would have written a scenario that didn't involve my near death." Kate glared at him. Rick defended himself, "I would never leave you, Kate. I lost two months of my life, and our wedding was ruined. You, Mother and Alexis were put thru agony. I don't know what happened to me. Why can't I remember?" Rick's voice was heavy with anguish. "Javi still thinks I had something to do with it, doesn't he?"

"I don't think he does. Finding out about Henry Jenkins being a fake gave him a clue that he could hang onto," Kate answered. "Ryan didn't accept that you might be involved, until we found the tent. That's when I lost my focus, too. I am so sorry. I should have known. I should have known."

"Do you think we'll ever find out who did this?" Rick asked.

Kate rested her hands on Rick's waist and looked at his sad, blue eyes, "We will find them Rick. It may take time, but we will find them together. Let's go home, babe."

Rick smiled at her, closed the shutters that held the evidence and echoed her sentiment, "Let's go home." He picked up one of Kate's packed bags, and she picked up the other. They left Kate's apartment together.

A/N: This is complete now. I just needed to fill in the holes with something that made sense to me. I am still perturbed that the writers of Castle had some of the characters lose their faith in Rick over that video, despite the other evidence.


End file.
